As part of Kultur | lx’s partnership with the Excite network and BBC Horizons / Gorwelion this year, KLEIN has been chosen to perform at Sŵn Festival, an award-winning multi-venue music festival. Based in Cardiff’s city centre since 2007, Sŵn focuses on new music, emerging artists and homegrown acts and will take place between October 21 and 23.
Performing on Sunday, October 23rd at Tiny Rebel, KLEIN works on an array of contrasts in a minimalist setting, slipping into a misty mood of melancholy and dark tones. In this almost pure setting, his music surprises with loud splinters of light, explosion of energy and even frenetic ecstasy when the musicians let their passion take over. After releasing their first EP beginning of 2019 and touring for almost 2 years, playing shows at Tallinn Music Week (EE), Cairo Jazz Festival (EG), Daegu Jazz Fest (KR), MENT Ljubjana (SI), and Magnetic Fields Festival (IN), among many others, 2022 marks a first break for KLEIN into a creative process where they will tour off their latest album, Sonder, out now on Cristal Records.
Excite is a highly-collaborative project between nine partner organisations based across Europe (BE, DE, DK, FI, LU, NO, NL, SE, UK) and leverages a dynamic mechanism to expedite the internationalisation of young artists and music businesses earlier in their careers and development. The delivery model is built around a core of ten partner festivals in their respective markets, with a small number of associated festivals and conferences in different territories – plus a curated stage which took place this year at The Great Escape in Brighton, UK.
More info at : https://swnfest.com/line-up/
Luxembourgish four-piece, TUYS, have just embarked on their cross-country UK tour, capping off the dates with a slot at international showcase event, FOCUS Wales, in Wrexham. This will mark the festival’s 11th edition and will welcome over 15,000 people and 250+ artists to the town.
An ESNS Exchange 2022 act, TUYS navigate on the threshold between fiction and reality with a satirical edge and driving indie rock and emotive psych pop music. Following their series “A Curtain Call For Dreamers” in 2020 and their appearance in the digital version of Eurosonic 2021 & 2022, TUYS announced their cooperation with three new partners on the live side: Echelon Talent Agency (UK), Friendly Fire and Intersection (Netherlands and Belgium).
Speaking of the band, UK agent Julia Konrad of Echelon Talent Agency said, “TUYS caught my eye with their original performance, taking their love for cinema and theatre and integrating them into an incredible live set. I am beyond excited to be part of their journey and see what the future holds for this intriguing band.”
Catch them at FOCUS Wales on Saturday, May 7th at Penny Black. More details here.
All dates of TUYS UK tour on our agenda
After being invited by La Blogothèque to perform at the 2021 Arte Concert Festival, C’est Karma has been selected to play this year’s The Great Escape festival in Brighton, UK, featuring some of the most exciting names in new music, including Alfie Templeman, Yard Act, Sinead O’Brien, MUNA, Lido Pimienta, and many more. The Great Escape, the festival for new music, will be kicking off the 2022 festival season, playing host to more than 450 up-and-coming artists and hotly tipped talent across 35+ walkable venues, alongside the music industry led TGE conference, from 11-14 May.
In addition to her Saturday night show at Brighthelm, Karma joins fellow Excite artists Kuoko and Yazmean for the first-ever “EXCITE Plus” showcase event, taking place Saturday, May 14th at Prince Albert from 12:30. Excite is a highly-collaborative project between nine partner organisations based across Europe (BE, DE, DK, FI, LU, NO, NL, SE, UK). This innovative network leverages a dynamic mechanism to expedite the internationalisation of young artists and music businesses earlier in their careers and development.
The Great Escape slots come just in time for Karma’s new EP “Amuse-Bouche” arriving May 13th. Drawing inspiration from artists such as SOPHIE, A.G. Cook or Björk the multi-facetted 20-year-old musician and passionate activist already garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Wonderland, The Line Of Best Fit, ELLE, Rolling Stone or Ones To Watch. On her upcoming hyperpop-infused third EP, Karma discusses the growing disparity between rich and poor, her anger at the inaction on the climate crisis or more simply her love for pasta.
With the support of Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg
C’est Karma received a promotion support for her EP Amuse-Bouche.
A number of showcase festivals are still open to apply for 2022, however we’ve picked out just a few priorities below. Please stay tuned in our call for application section as more festivals open up calls and don’t forget to let us know once you have submitted an application.
The Great Escape, Brighton (UK) : May 11 – 14, 2022
The Great Escape welcomes artists from every genre across the globe to apply for a chance to play at the world’s most renowned festival for breaking new talent. You will be performing with the beautiful seaside backdrop of Brighton, where 450+ acts will be filling over 35 venues, this a great opportunity to meet key music industry figures from the UK and abroad who come to TGE looking for the next big thing.
Previous artists who have performed at The Great Escape include Adele, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, HAIM, AJ Tracey, Vampire Weekend, Mura Masa, Skepta, Slaves, Charli XCX, Wolf Alice, Little Simz, Aitch, Foals, Loyle Carner, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Bon Iver, Lewis Capaldi and many more!
Deadline : February 13, 2022
Apply here : https://greatescapefestival.com/apply-to-play/
Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavík (IS) : November 2 – 5, 2022
Situated halfway between North America and Europe, Iceland Airwaves brings together the country’s brightest emerging musical talent and forward-thinking international acts each November for four days and nights. For two decades Airwaves has shone a spotlight on new talent, with early appearances from the likes of Mac DeMarco, James Blake, Sufjan Stevens, Young Fathers, Sigrid, Florence and The Machine, and many more.
Iceland Airwaves aims for acts who they feel will have a good chance of successful outcomes from their performance (good attendance to their show, good media and industry interest). They do receive some applications from new talent that while very good, are not always relevant to the audience and market. In those cases, it’s less easy to justify putting those artists on the line-up. Please be mindful of this before applying to the festival (or any music festival for that matter) and reach out to your respective project manager should there be any doubts.
Deadline : June 30, 2022
Apply here : https://icelandairwaves.is/apply/
Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg (DE) : September 21 – 24, 2022
For four days every September, the international music community meets in St. Pauli district. The eponymous festival takes place on and all around the Reeperbahn strip. As colourful and diverse as the area is the choice of locations and international performing artists: concerts will be hosted in places as different as Molotow music club and the St. Pauli church.
With more than 360 different concerts, readings, art happenings and movie screenings, the festival is packed with highlights for every music lover. From heavy metal and punk to indie, hip-hop, jazz and soul: visitors and artists alike will have plenty of opportunity to broaden their musical minds beyond genre boundaries.
Deadline : July 23, 2022
Apply here : https://www.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/info/band-application
Ahead of their performances this week at Crossroads Festival (Roubaix, FR) and WAVES Vienna (FR), Francis of Delirium have shared their new single “Come Out & Play” via UK-label Dalliance Recordings. Watch here :
The single marks the first new music since releasing their second EP ‘Wading’ in April 2021, which saw support from the likes of the BBC, KEXP, Pitchfork, FADER, Clash and NPR among many others. Along with Crossroads and WAVES, the band will head out on a run of European festivals and their first-ever UK shows this Fall, including a sold out show at Folklore in London!
Full list of upcoming live dates as follows :
Sept 8 – Crossroads Festival, Roubaix – France
Sept 10 – Waves Festival, Vienna – Austria (INES#talent)
Sept 19 – Incredibell Sound Festival, Saarbrucken – Germany
Sept 22 – Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg – Germany
Oct 9 – Out Of The Crowd Festival, Esch-sur-Alzette – Luxembourg
Oct 18 – Broadcast, Glasgow – UK
Oct 19 – The Castle, Manchester – UK
Oct 20 – Folklore, London – UK (SOLD OUT)
Oct 21 – Ramsgate Music Hall, Kent – UK
Oct 22 – The Crofters Rights, Bristol – UK
Nov 3 – 7 – Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavik – Iceland
On Thursday, May 13 at 19:20 on Stage 2, Kultur | lx presented the second edition of amplify:LX at The Great Escape Online! Each of our three showcasing artists have their own unique connection to the UK, from electro-pop artist CHAiLD to the looped-electronics of Bartleby Delicate and Gen Z grunge-rock of Francis of Delirium.
Bartleby Delicate is no stranger to The Great Escape. As the lead-singer of Luxembourgish-band Seed To Tree, the singer-songwriter branched out to form his solo project back in 2017 and was asked last-minute to perform at the festival in the same year.
“I have always loved the freedom of being a solo artist. I got to know that I would play the 2017 edition of the TGE the day before the showcase and my solo project basically started from there! From that moment, I realized there could be some potential in the project. The songs have developed from my performance in 2017 where I took the train with only an acoustic guitar. Now I’m back with all of my electronics. I suppose you could say it’s because of The Great Escape that I’m still here!”
Bartleby Delicate’s sound navigates the currents of contemporary folk and loop-based electronics with impressive ease. On his debut EP “Deadly Sadly Whatever”, which will be released May 14th via the Berlin-based indie label Listenrecords, Bartleby merges the polyphonic expanse of his voice with subtle arpeggios, melancholic piano chords, and field recordings. The EP was mixed by John Foyle (Ibeyi, Sampha, FKA Twigs) in London, produced by Napoleon Gold in Brussels (originally from Luxembourg), and mastered by Thomas Harsem (Intergalactic Lovers, Faces on TV) in Sweden.
CHAiLD’s own introduction to the UK started when he moved from Luxembourg to attend The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
“Being able to perform in the UK again is a very sweet feeling. It takes me back to my life in Liverpool, a place that felt like home. It is the country where I learned the most about myself as an artist and performer, but most importantly, it taught me what it means to be proud of your true self and that being different is good. I can’t wait to show you guys how much I’ve grown since I first landed at Manchester Airport!”
Outside of songwriting, CHAiLD also takes his art into new dimensions through fashion and modelling. His inspirations range from 80s hyper-masculine clothes-wear to modern gender-fluid high-fashion ; always meant to provoke and bring his own touch of extravaganza to the party.
Last but not least, Francis of Delirium’s recent international breakthrough story started last year with their UK team. First appearing back in January 2020, the band signed to UK-label Dalliance Recordings following the success of their debut single “Quit Fucking Around” later catching the attention of booking agency Free Trade (The Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, Wilco). Their most recent sophomore EP, “Wading”, has garnered wide praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, FADER, FLOOD, Line of Best Fit (8/10) “Wading is a captivating insight into vocalist Jana Bahrich’s coming of age”, DIY, Clash, FADER, KEXP, and BBC 1 and 6 Radio. The band is set to perform (in-person!) for the first time in the UK this October 18-20 in Glasgow, Manchester, and London.
“I am incredibly excited for our first shows in the UK this fall, I feel like we might all stage dive and then kiss.”