roadburnfestival

November 15, 2019

ROADBURN 2020 TICKETS

Less than 10% of 4-day tickets remain for Roadburn 2020, and single-day tickets will go on sale on December 10. More information about tickets and accommodation options can be found HERE.

EMMA RUTH RUNDLE’S THE GILDED CAGE:

DAVID EUGENE EDWARDS
At Roadburn, David Eugene Edwards has graced us with his presence on two occasions as part of Wovenhand. Each performance pulsated with energy and elevated the sets to be highlights of each respective edition of the festival – in no small part due to David’s electrifying presence. We’re delighted to bring him back to Roadburn, this time as part of Emma Ruth Rundle’s curation, The Gilded Cage. David will perform an acoustic, solo set that promises to showcase the diversity of his delivery and the nuances of his craft.

Emma comments: “It’s been a secret wish to see DEE playing solo and delivering his songs in their most bare forms. This was the very first thing that came to mind when I was asked to co-curate Roadburn and it’s going to be a rare and precious jewel of a performance.”

Read more about David Eugene Edwards HERE

JAMES KENT’S CURATION:

REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER
A product of the burgeoning French underground scene that has produced so much incredible music in the past few years, over the course of two records so far, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber have used scraps from the most sinister subgenres, from black metal to sludge to build up truly frightening epics. Always apocalyptic in feeling, emotional and ruthless in equal measures, drenched in religious imagery and references, and creating a sonic depiction of the fall of mankind… and its subsequent rising to replace the cruelty of the established gods. Not only will we be expecting all of this maelstrom of fiery feelings, but also a healthy measure of the unexpected as well, since Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will be playing their new not-quite-announced-yet album in its entirety.

Read more about Regarde Les Hommes Tomber HERE

HANGMAN’S CHAIR X REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER
Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will join forces with Hangman’s Chair for a collaboration at Roadburn 2020. Hellish, sludgy black metal will clash horns-first with cold, despondent doom, and the result will surely transcend even the most delirious of descriptions that we can come up with at this point. Originally commissioned by Red Bull, this unholy collaboration has occurred just once previously, in Paris. That performance lasted 45 minutes, but for Roadburn an additional 15 minutes of material will be debuted just for us.

Read more about Hangman’s Chair x Regarde Les Hommes Tomber HERE

PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND
Plebeian Grandstand are a band that have morphed from a core of quite technical, hardcore charged metal to be the hulking beast of black metal fury we see before us today. The creative journey they have been on has led to an infusion of influences from outside the black metal sphere, resulting in nuance and depth that can sometimes be hard to find within the genre. On top of that, they eschew the cartoonish elements of extreme black metal – you’ll find no burning churches here – in favour of something rooted more firmly in reality. After all, what’s more nightmarish than the real world?

Read more about Plebeian Grandstand HERE

TRUE BODY
With a calculated sense of tension and just enough human touch to cut through their own cold post-punk atmospheres, Virginia‘s True Body has built a following with their urgent and impassioned music. Instead of falling into melodramatic excess or disconnected affectations, the band manages to bring the best of each realm for something that leaves audiences rapt and thrilled. With this masterful take on such a beloved sound, we’re honored to announce that True Body will be performing at Roadburn 2020 as part of James Kent’s curation.

Read more about True Body HERE

In 2020, The Flenser will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the label’s first release. The San Francisco based label has been committed to releasing experimental, avant-garde music for a whole decade – which – naturally – has not escaped our notice here at Roadburn HQ. To celebrate this milestone and to acknowledge the impact that The Flenser has had on our record collections and the broader musical landscape we have invited several of the label’s current artists to perform at Roadburn 2020.

The Flenser label manager, Jonathan Tuite comments: “Roadburn is my absolute favorite festival in the world. The lineup is always diverse, the audience enthusiastic, and the curation is second to none. I can’t think of a more appropriate place for The Flenser to celebrate our ten years of existence.”

GILES COREY
For over ten years Dan Barrett has been cementing his role as a visionary in dark music history. Perhaps none of this work has resonated with more intimacy than Giles Corey, his acoustic guitar led, ghost noise-soaked songwriting vessel. While on paper an acoustic led-project sounds like a potentially low-key affair, Giles Corey is bursting with electric energy–recordings are awash in swirling organs, reverberating choirs, striking horns, and blown out drums. While Giles Corey has performed as a solo-act, Roadburn 2020 will mark the project’s first appearance as a full-band. Members of Have a Nice Life, including central figure Tim Macuga, will help bring the album’s haunted sounds to life: expect the stage and audience to be left in a scorched earth state of desolation.

Read more about Giles Corey HERE

ELIZABETH COLOUR WHEEL
“Otherworldly” is a description often applied to artists that evoke the ethereal, and whilst that is occasionally applicable to Elizabeth Colour Wheel, the otherworldliness they invoke is more to do with the fact that it’s not always clear if they really inhabit the same world as we do. Their debut album, Nocebo, laughs in the face of genre descriptors, forging a new path that may be tricky to describe but that offers a wildly enticing prospect.

Read more about Elizabeth Colour Wheel HERE

DROWSE
Drowse is an outlet for Kyle Bates to explore his place in the world; his music echoes what he experiences on the varied paths of this internal-reflection. Sometimes those paths lead to extraordinary places – this year’s Light Mirror LP was inspired by an isolated trip to northern Iceland where he took up an artistic residency in 2018. The melancholic results are the sonic equivalent of a sliver of sunlight permeating an otherwise bleak and drizzly morning. The weight of Bates’ reflections is mighty, but it never quite succeeds in suffocating the shards of harmonious hope that glint in the winter sun.

Read more about Drowse HERE

MAMALEEK
Mamaleek have been unearthing truly uncategorizable sounds from the catacombs of black metal since 2008. Founded by two anonymous brothers, the Bay Area project has become known for both its wild experimentation and aesthetic cohesion. The use of left-field samples threads their discography together, with sound sources growing more bizarre with each release. The current lineup mixes childhood friends and total strangers. Their participation is an outgrowth of the core duo, an experiment in a live setting, using instruments and sounds that highlight experimentation and flout genre conventions. Who knows how long this iteration will last before the next metamorphosis.

Read more about Mamaleek HERE

MIDWIFE
As a multi-instrumentalist, Madeline Johnson AKA Midwife has sculpted a fuzzy take on experimental dream pop, drenched in melody and punctuated with distortion. Despite a central theme of “devastation” Midwife makes for nuanced and evocative easy listening that can’t help but feel like something of an audio honey trap. We’ll have to wait until April to find out exactly what lurks beneath the surface…

Read more about Midwife HERE

FÖLLAKZOID AND ATOM TM
Spearheading Chile’s vibrant psych scene, Föllakzoid will transport Roadburn 2020 on an all-encompassing voyage. Joined once again by German electronic artist and producer, Atom TM, the band will make their Roadburn debut, aiming to, “modulate the gravitational waves in order to alter the temporality perception and get sucked into the timeless space continuum,” as guitarist/singer Domingæ Garcia-Huidobro aptly puts it.

Read more about Föllakzoid and Atom TM HERE

PRIMITIVE MAN
It is with great anticipation that we’re delighted to announce that Primitive Man will be playing twice at Roadburn 2020. One set will be a business-as-usual, throat-ripping, bone crushing display of what makes them a must-watch band. And one set will be a run through of their 2017 album, Caustic. This is the kind of endurance test we relish – an audio pummelling so intense that there’s no way to come out the other side without a shift in our worldview.

Read more about Primitive Man HERE

LANKUM
When The Livelong Day – the latest offering from Dublin four piece, Lankum – passed over our desks, our ears pricked up and we knew we had to invite them to Roadburn next year. It’s not uncommon to find us feeling effusive about noise, drone and ambient projects in the Roadburn world, but it’s a much rarer prospect to find such tonal qualities on what is undoubtedly, most definitely a folk album. Uilleann pipes and harmonium come together to create a cinematic soundscape that many Roadburners will feel right at home with.

The album makes for an appropriate gateway for those attending Roadburn, regardless of which side you’re approaching from – a folk fan heading towards darker territories, or a heavy music fan lured by the promise of a genre steeped in history and countless traditional flourishes.

Read all about Lankum HERE

HILARY WOODS
Hilary Woods wrote her debut full length, Colt, alone – before before taking her recordings to Berlin to work with James Kelly (Wife, Altar of Plagues). The solitude is palpable, and listening to what she has made feels like a cautious invitation into a quiet place that she has created. Imagine a soft cocoon of sound, enveloping you as you step through into the netherworld of her making.

Read more about Hilary Woods HERE

TORPOR
Rhetoric Of The Image showcases Torpor’s confidence; lengthy post-metal tracks smoulder whilst shorter, more experimental cuts punctuate the album. The three piece will expand a little for Roadburn in order to do justice to the full fifty one minutes that make up Rhetoric Of The Image as they perform it in full for us at Roadburn.

Read more about Torpor HERE

PH
Earlier this year, PH released Osiris Hayden, their second offering through Svart Records and fifth overall in their prolific decade together. Their latest work finds them embracing new reaches of the cosmic infinite, taking on electronic charge as they never have before and exploring the connection between organic and inorganic audio experiences.

Read more about PH HERE.

SUM OF R
The current incarnation of Sum of R already sees Reto teamed up with Jukka Rämänen (Dark Buddha Rising, Hexvessel, Waste Of Space Orchestra), which has allowed them to forge even more adventurous paths from their dark ambient / drone of yore, but now yet another figure from that particular Finnish scene will be adding his own very particular twist to the proceedings and giving them a new voice, quite literally, as it is none other than vocalist Marko Neuman (Dark Buddha Rising, Waste Of Space Orchestra, Convocation, Ural Umbo).

Read more about Sum of R HERE.

MANY BLESSINGS
Those of you familiar with Ethan McCarthy will know him as the formidable frontman for Primitive Man. Under the banner of Many Blessings, Ethan performs a much less frenzied kind of music – and yet somehow it manages to be no less disturbing and spine-chilling. Many Blessings has seeped into our consciousness – a slow, creeping threat of sonic menace. Whilst the ferocity we are are perhaps more accustomed to is not present, the wordless missives are brooding and visceral.

Read more about Many Blessings HERE

EYE FLYS
After listening to their blistering debut album Context, and considering the fact that guitarist Spencer Hazard was already roped in for Roadburn 2020 as a member of one of our artists in residence, the wonderful Full Of Hell, how could we ever pass on Eye Flys? The Backslider rhythm section of Jake Smith – here on guitar and vocals – and Patrick Forrest plus Triac‘s Kevin Bernsten complete the line-up.

Read more about Eye Flys HERE

Already announced for Roadburn 2020 is: Emma Ruth Rundle and James Kent as curators, commissioned projects from James Kent & Johannes Persson, Jo Quail, and Vile Creature & Bismuth, the return of Julie Christmas, Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, Torche, Brutus, Bada (ft. Anna Von Hausswolff), Dool, Health, Hide, Boy Harsher, She Past Away, and two Artists In Residence: Full of Hell and Lingua Ignota. Check the full line up HERE.

This week’s playlist has been the soundtrack to our latest announcement – a mix of brand new songs and a few that are a little older. For example, we couldn’t resist including Hilary Woods, who was included in yesterday’s announcement – her 2018 album, Colt, is such a beautiful piece of work. The same goes for Lankum’s The Livelong Day. If you haven’t gotten familiar with it yet, now is definitely the time. There’s plenty more to get your teeth into too – so enough from us, get listening!

If you’d like to track down these songs elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Orville Peck – Dead of Night (Sub Pop)

Hilary Woods – Black Rainbow (Sacred Bones)

Lankum – Hunting the Wren (Rough Trade)

Richard Dawson – Civil Servant (Domino Recording)

Midwife – Song for an Unborn Sun (The Flenser)

Kim Gordon – Air BnB (Matador)

Pleasure Symbols – Autonomy (Avant! Records)

Witch Trail – Sinking (Consouling Sounds / Babylon Doom Cult)

Schammasch – Ego Sum Omega (Prosthetic Records)

Caina – Your Life Was Probably Pointless (Apocalyptic Witchcraft)

Eye Flys – Crushing of the Human Spirit (Thrill Jockey)

Envy – A Step in the Morning Glow (Pelagic Records)

Loma Prieta – Continuum (Deathwish Inc)

Dallas Acid – Vacker (All Saints Records)

EOB – Santa Teresa (Over Normal Limited)

Doon Kanda – Polycephaly (Hyperdub)

Biomass – Botanist (Aural Music)

Liturgy – God of Love (Self Release)

Sirom – Low Probability of a Hug (Glitterbeat Records)

November 8, 2019

The overwhelm of the last few weeks of releases is starting to die down and we’re getting stuck in to some of the new albums that have been unleashed on the world. Before our thoughts turn to 2020, we’re revelling in all this amazing new music. Topping our “must listen” list is the long awaited Sea of Worry from Have A Nice Life, a personal highlight of Roadburn 2019.

If you’d like to track down these songs elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:

Have A Nice Life – Trespassers W (The Flenser)

Lightning Bold – Hüsker Dön’t (Thrill Jockey)

Oiseaux-Tempête – He Is Afraid and so Am I (Self-Release)

Lankum – The Young People (Rough Trade)

Thy Catafalque – Szélvéz (Season of Mist)

Hangman’s Chair – Lost Brothel (Spinefarm)

Gaahls WYRD – Carving the Voices (Season of Mist)

Blut Aus Nord – Haallucinählia (Eitrin Editions)

Teitanblood – Black Vertebrae (NoEvDiA)

Lord Mantis – Qliphotic Alpha (Profound Lore)

Cranial – Faint Voice (Moment of Collapse Records)

Bambara – Serafina (Wharf Cat Records)

Algiers – Dispossession (Matador Records)

Moor Mother – After Images (Don Giovanni Records)

Clipping. – Blood of the Fang (Sub Pop Records)

Ben Vince, Bianca Scout – Mark of the Spirit (33 33)

Fire! Orchestra – Blue Crystal Fire (Runne Grammofon)

Mamiffer – To Be Seen (Sige Records)

October 17, 2019

ROADBURN 2020 TICKETS

Weekend tickets for Roadburn are on sale now (3-day tickets are sold out, 4-day tickets remain on sale). More information about tickets and accommodation options can be found HERE.

JAMES KENT’S CURATION:

ORANSSI PAZUZU
There are so many pieces of the puzzle that will fall into place between now and next April, and we’re sworn to secrecy on just about all of it. But what we can tell you is that Oranssi Pazuzu will be performing their as-yet unnamed new album in full at Roadburn 2020, as a part of James Kent’s curated event.

It seems incomprehensible that Oranssi Pazuzu may have evaded your attention at this point. But we’re sure there’s a few of you out there – the uninitiated. Begin preparations immediately, as come April 2020, there will be dark forces at work here in Tilburg. A magical, mind-melting mangle of psychedelic avant-garde spirits will cast a spell over us all.

“When I first heard Oranssi Pazuzu back when they released their album “Kosmonument”, I felt like I had struck gold. Still to this day there is not a single band that sounds even remotely similar to their unique mix of psychedelic rock infused with black metal, and each of their tracks has successfully managed to make me feel like I was having a drug induced trip while making my head bang all at the same time” – James Kent.

“Not taking any of this for granted, we are massively excited to announce that we are asked once again, to return to the festival in its 2020 edition, as part of James Kent’s curation. Further, in true Roadburn fashion, we will not be playing just a regular show, but instead we will perform our upcoming new album live, in its entirety, for the first time, prior to the release!” – Oranssi Pazuzu.

Read more about Oranssi Pazuzu HERE.

BLANCK MASS
Among the list of achievements that Blanck Mass can be proud of is soundtracking the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony in London – and come April 2020, he’ll also be able to say they played Roadburn! Whilst we might not have an audience of 900 million watching what goes down in Tilburg that day, we can be sure to give Blanck Mass a customary Roadburn welcome.

Soundtracking the emotions that accompany personal and societal loss, intimate and global grief – his latest album, Animated Violence Mild, is direct, honest and absolutely drenched in melody.

Read more about Blanck Mass HERE.

HANGMAN’S CHAIR
Making a return to Roadburn – this time under the curatorship of James Kent – is France’s Hangman’s Chair. The cathartic doom/post-punk combination will be familiar to Roadburners who witnessed them back in 2016, but the intervening years have only seen the four-piece pick up the pace.

Their 2018 album Banlieue Triste (which featured James in his Perturbator guise, and Wolvennest’s Marc de Backer)  will  be played  in full during their Roadburn performance. Sink into the melancholic explorations of some of the darkest places they have been.

Read more about Hangman’s Chair HERE.

EMMA RUTH RUNDLE’S THE GILDED CAGE:

MIZMOR
Mizmor’s latest album, Cairn, is a mesmerising piece of work. Back in 2016, we were bowled over by Yodh – Mizmor’s previous offering – and we invited multi-instrumentalist, A.L.N, to bring his project to the Roadburn stage in 2018. The set proved to be a defining element of Roadburn that year for all who witnessed it. Cairn is a continuation of Yodh – yet somehow more personal, more intense and more captivating. It’s not necessarily an easy journey, but it’s one we went on willingly. So, it is with enormous pleasure that we announce Mizmor’s return – performing Cairn in full at Roadburn 2020.

Read more about Mizmor HERE.

CLOUD RAT
We already announced that Cloud Rat would be playing Roadburn 2020, but we’re delighted to announce that they have agreed to a second show.  There are dozens of reasons why their latest offering, Pollinator, stands head and shoulders above many other 2019 releases, and just one of them is the accompanying EP that was released at the same time. Performing tracks from Do Not Let Me off the Cliff, as well as a couple of cuts from elsewhere in their catalogue, Cloud Rat will be showing off a different side to themselves. In order to do justice to the songs in a live setting, the band are enlisting the help of a familiar face and dear friend of Roadburn – Thou’s Andy Gibbs.

Read more about Cloud Rat‘s Do Not Let Me off the Cliff set HERE.

SRSQ
The haunting, sorrow-tinged melody that envelopes SRSQ’s debut album, Unreality, gives a big clue of what to expect when Kennedy Ashlyn takes to the Roadburn stage next April. Formed after her previous project, Them Are Us Too, ended due to the tragic death of Kennedy’s collaborator, Cash Askew, SRSQ (pronounced Seer-skew) retains much of the magic that made TAUT so compelling. The soaring synths and layers of swirling emotion are still present, as of course is her lullaby-esque dreamy vocals.

Read more about SRSQ HERE.

FVNERALS
Their 2016 album, Wounds, is a creeping, eerie voyage through some incredibly dark shadows. Dripping with lethargic menace and hazy atmospherics, Fvnerals paint a sonic landscape that feels devoid of sunlight, absolute desolation pervades. News has reached us that writing will soon commence for their next opus due out in late 2020. Whilst Fvnerals are not a cheery prospect, they are a strangely alluring one. We’re delighted to welcome them to Roadburn 2020.

Read more about Fvnerals HERE.

ALSO ANNOUNCED…

BIG BRAVE & JESSICA MOSS
Big Brave are a modern wonder – a trio of musicians that have seemingly created their own little universe, with no need for our earthly categorisations, no need for our restrictive genres, and no need to stick to any kind of formula. A joy to witness live at any point, but especially so when they’re joined by a special guest.

Jessica Moss featured on the Big Brave albums, Au De La and Ardor, performing violin, and on extremely infrequent occasions she has performed with the band live. We’re thrilled to announce that this unholy union will be sharing a stage at Roadburn 2020; the stars in the Roadburn universe have aligned and we’ve captured this most rare of beasts.

Big Brave comment: “Occurring but once in a blue moon, playing with Jessica Moss is always a sonic blessing. Our set always has so much room for improvisation and having guests such as the great Moss, these moments of freedom are elevated and intensified. As stark and bleak as we like to keep things in BB, it is always a pleasure to have her grace us with glorious melody. Being able to perform this set at Roadburn will truly be something special and we couldn’t be more excited for it.”

Read more about Big Brave & Jessica Moss HERE.

JESSICA MOSS
As well as performing alongside Big Brave, Jessica Moss will take to the stage a second time at Roadburn 2020 to perform her own set. Her captivating sonic experimentation and ethereal violin playing will be an all-consuming musical journey for Roadburners lucky enough to witness it live. For those who appreciate the intricacies of quiet moment found at Roadburn – Jessica Moss is the show for you.

Read more about Jessica Moss HERE.

CRYPT SERMON
Confidently lassoing all that is great about traditional heavy metal, straddling it and whipping it into shape for a contemporary audience, Crypt Sermon may just have concocted a magic formula that pays tribute to those who have paved the way, whilst simultaneously forging a new path. It’s time to break out your leather jacket – or if you’re feeling bold, the double denim – and get ready to rock out: Crypt Sermon are heading straight for Roadburn 2020 to play their latest album, The Ruins of Fading Light, in full.

The band comments: “Tilburg, you’re DOOMED! Crypt Sermon are proud to announce our pact with Roadburn Festival. We will be playing our new album, “The Ruins of Fading Light” in full for a very special evening of epic heavy metal thunder. Swords raised, we press onward!”

Read more about Crypt Sermon HERE.

LANA DEL RABIES
The origins of Lana Del Rabies may have a connection to her namesake, but since those early days of paying a droney tribute to the pop star, Lana Del Rabies has taken a life of its own. The project  and pseudonym of Phoenix, Arizona resident, Sam An, blends synthesized electronics, drone/noise elements and industrial heaviness into an atmosphere of existential abreaction and an exploration of the occult.

Read more about Lana Del Rabies HERE.

RED KITE
For Roadburn 2020, we will continue our quest to bring you some of the most exciting prog bands around. Championing the burgeoning Norwegian psych-prog-jazz scene is Red Kite. Their self-titled debut is a master class in progressive jams and hypnotic soundscapes, hence inviting them for Roadburn.

The band comments: “Red Kite are indeed honored to be featured on the 2020 edition of the Roadburn Festival. The open mindset off this festival reflects Red Kites eclectic vision perfectly!”

Read more about Red Kite HERE.