Miscellaneous - Feature

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 15 / 1 / 2002

intro

I have been doing some thinking about the year ahead in British independent music. While I don't think there will be many major changes, here are some of my thoughts and predictions on some of the important independent music events that will affect t

I have been doing some thinking about the year ahead in British independent music. While I don't think there will be many major changes, here are some of my thoughts and predictions on some of the important independent music events that will affect this year. 1) All Tomorrow's Parties-Camber Sands, April This is the largest independent music gathering in Britain and the line up is looking fantastic. For that single reason it will be one of the most important moments of the year. Hopefully it will be like last year's event and introduce some brilliant new bands. In 2000 ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead came to people's attention at ALL Tomorrow's Parties, so hopefully this year there will be a similar occurrence. This year's bill (curated by Tortoise) is more experimental, but the highlights should be Lambchop, A reformed Television, Boards Of Canada, Autechre, and, of course, Tortoise themselves. While Tortoise are not as high profile as last year's curators - Mogwai - it should still be absolutely fantastic. and introduce some great bands in a way that none of the mainstream festivals can. 2) No Melody Maker or Select This may be important. Neither magazine gave exclusive coverage to much of my favourite music, although I read both. The problem here is that there is now only the NME left to promote new groups. Bands that NME are lukewarm or critical of may suffer as a result. This, however, may not be a complete disaster. Most of the bands featured at www.pennyblackmusic.com get little media coverage nationally anyway, and with increasing access to bands through the internet anyway, a lot of the best groups will continue to be able to build up an audience. 3) New Albums by Big Bands. Three of my favourite major acts release new albums this year. Firstly, there is the Manic Street Preachers. Their last album wasn't one of the best but the new one 'Know Your Enemy', which is out in April, sounds promising. There are rumours that it will take a disco direction , and while their forthcoming gig in Cuba seems to be sensationalist rather than innovative, the new album should still be worth checking out. Some people argue that major acts detract from the sales of lesser bands, but Kid A didn't do Aphex Twin any harm I suspect. There was an interesting article in the Independent newspaper recently on major groups championing cult figures, for example Kurt Cobain with Daniel Johnston. Radiohead may have the same effect by taking electronic music to America. Talking of Radiohead, they release 'Amnesiac' in May, which, of course, because it is Radiohead, will make essential listening. Thirdly, R.E.M. are also going to be putting out a new album. Initial concert reviews of new material are good. 'Up', which was released in 1998, was never popular but moments on it such as 'You're In The Air" and 'At My Most Beautiful' stood up to their earlier material, so hopefully this time around they will prove to be fully back on form. It has been three years since Bob Dylan released his last masterpiece 'Time Out Of Mind', and after his tour last year, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a new album from him as well. 4) No Glastonbury While gaining indie music some welcome exposure on TV, Glastonbury has had a dubious booking policy in the last few years. It will be missed, especially by its regular vistors for its atmosphere, but with other festivals such as All Tomorrow's Parties having increasingly strong line ups, not nearly as much as many people think. To finish here are the 10 confirmed albums I am most looking forward to. Doubtlessly though this will not be anything like my Albums Of The Year list in December! 1 LOW - NEW ALBUM, Released in Feb 2 Radiohead - Amnesiac 3 Boards Of Canada - New Album, released some stage this year. 4 Ash - New Album, containing the "Shining Light" single. 5 Mogwai - New Album 6 R.E.M. - New Album 7 Terris - Learning To let Go 8 Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus 9 Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy 10 - BS 2000 - Simply Mortified.