Featuring Sup Pop at the Experimental Stage and T-Mobile at the Forest Stage
Pissed Jeans, Purity Ring, and Kuedo will perform at the Experimental Stage, curated for one day by Jonathan Poneman, head of the legendary Sub Pop record label. Meanwhile, artists at Scena Leśna (the Forest Stage) will be performing under the banner of T-Mobile, the OFF Festival Strategic Sponsor.
Jonathan Poneman is an old friend of the OFF Festival, but it’s his knowledge that makes him a good choice for a curator: who knows more about music than the guy who signed Nirvana and Fleet Foxes?
If you joined us in partying at the Omar Souleyman concert or enjoyed performances by Oneohtrix Point Never, Xiu Xiu, and Suuns last August, you’ll never forget that intense atmosphere at the Experimental Stage, sponsored by the site T-Mobile Music. This year, the OFF Festival’s collaboration with T-Mobile is expanding; Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa has been selected as the OFF Festival’s Strategic Sponsor, and the artists at the Forest Stage will be performing this year under the sponsorship of T-Mobile.
The following acts are this week’s additions to the OFF Festival lineup:
Pissed Jeans
An American band that embodies the classic Sub Pop values: they’re noisy, angry, and authentic. This noise-rock quartet from Pennsylvania sounds great in the studio – don’t miss their 2009 release King of Jeans – but the stage is where they truly shine. Go up closer – if you’re not afraid of a bit of madness and chaos, that is. We’re also proud to announce that the Pissed Jeans song “False Jesii Part 2” will be the official musical theme of this year’s edition of the festival, and will be featured in OFF Festival ads and other media.
Purity Ring
Corin Roddick and Megan James serve up futuristic pop that blends club music, r’n’b, and indie experimentation. Released to the world in early 2011, their very first single “Ungirthed” won praise from reviewers at Pitchfork and The Guardian. The Canadian duo’s upcoming album is one of the most eagerly-awaited independent records of the year.
Kuedo
We at the OFF Festival are no strangers to intelligent, forward-looking electronic music. Jamie Teasdale made a name for himself as half of the dubstep duo Vex’d, but he truly spread his wings as a solo artist, recording under the name Kuedo. His debut album, Severant (Planet Mu), and especially his live feats confirm the notion that Jamie respects no borders in electronic music, mixing dubstep basslines with such retro influences as synth pop and even disco.
Fanfarlo
Founded by the London-based Swede Simon Balthazar, Fanfarlo deftly navigates the space between folksy mawkishness and rock and roll literalism. Though they’ve been compared to both Beirut and Radiohead, Fanfarlo have managed to prove that they can speak – or sing, rather – with their own voice on their second album, Rooms Filled with Light, produced by Ben H. Allen (Deerhunter, Animal Collective).
Kobiety
We don’t keep any statistics of this kind, but we’re willing to bet that if someone were to check which part of Poland has been the most strongly represented at the OFF Festival to date, the Tri-City area would come out on top. Considering our admiration and support for the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot music scene, it was only a matter of time before Kobiety performed at the OFF Festival, and we have have just the occasion this year: their album Mutanty, released last fall, was one of the best Polish alternative records to come out in recent years.
Profesjonalizm
This jazz sextet founded by Marcin Masecki, a pianist as excellent as he is mad, brings together the greatest shredders of the Warsaw scene. Szuszkiewicz, Górczyński, Duda, Domagalski, and Rogiewicz: each of these gentlemen are brands in and of themselves. Together, they’ve offered a fresh yet subversively Polish take on jazz with their enthusiastically received album Chopin Chopin Chopin. And as for their live shows: anything is possible.
Tickets and passes are available at the OFF Store on the official OFF Festival website, as well as through Seetickets in the UK.
Now available:
1. OFF 3-Day Festival Pass with or without Campground Access: 160/200 zł, provides access to all three days of the festival at Dolina Trzech Stawów, August 3 to 5. Listed prices are valid till June 11.
2. Tickets to this year’s OFF Club (May 11–13, Światowid Cinema, Katowice): available exclusively at the OFF Festival website. Tickets are 30 zł (until May 10) and 40 zł (May 11, 12, 13).
